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SIOP Lesson Plan Template 1

Teacher: Casey Fichtner Date: 2/3/19 Grade/Class/Subject: 2nd Grade ELA lesson.
21 students - 2 ELs

Unit/Theme: Informational Writing Unit - Fire Theme (based Standards:

on book Wildfires by Kathy Furgang)
Language Standard - CCSS RI.2.4: Determine the meaning
of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or
subject area.

Overarching Unit/Lesson Content Standard - CCSS W.2.2:

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a
topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and
provide a concluding statement or section.

Content Objective(s): Organizing ideas in order to write Language Objective(s): Applying domain specific
informational text language to written materials

KEY VOCABULARY: SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS:

Academic language: Ignite, spark, up in smoke, firefighter, Vocabulary from IPad Make Belief Comix definitions (from
controlled burn, ground fire, crown fire previous lesson)
Other: prewrite, story-map, organize Picture vocabulary cards
Written vocabulary cards
Popplet Wildfires Story map (on each student IPad)
Fires mentor text

SIOP FEATURES
PREPARATION SCAFFOLDING GROUP OPTIONS
Adaptation of content Modeling Whole class
Links to background Guided practice Small groups
Links to past learning Independent practice Partners
Strategies incorporated Comprehensible input Independent
INTEGRATION OF PROCESSES APPLICATION ASSESSMENT
Reading Hands-on Individual
Writing Meaningful Group
Speaking Linked to objectives Written
Listening Promotes engagement Oral

LESSON SEQUENCE: LESSON 3 out of 5

Opening:
1. The lesson will be introduced with the hook and the lesson objective, "Authors, now that you are wildfire experts, we will
work together to create a National Geographic Kids Wildfire Podcast. As authors, you will first need to organize your ideas
before writing. This is called prewriting."
Guided Practice:
1. In groups of 3, students will pick an Ipad with a Make Belief Comix strip that defines one wildfire vocabulary term from
our word bank from previous lessons. Students will turn and talk about their Comix and discuss/create an action and
definition. This activates prior knowledge and strategies. Students will share out their words for the class.
2. I will then present the students with the word ignite, a match, an image of lightening, some burned wood, a picture of a
forest fire, pictures of the fire triangle, etc. I will activate prior knowledge by asking the students to visualize the word ignite
and then act out the definition with me.
3. I will then present a Popplet story map with the forest fire picture in the middle. I will think out loud as I arrange items and
pictures around the story map. I will add some domain specific language to the pictures when they are placed onto the map.
I will describe how I am organizing the pictures/words into categories. My first category: Ways to Start a Wildfire. My second
category: The Fire Triangle. My third category: What Happens During a Wildfire. I will think out loud about how I am
creating categories by using the chapter titles in the mentor text about Wildfires.
4. I will then instruct students to turn and talk with their groups about where they can place the vocabulary word from their
Ipad Comix on the story map. After a short discussion, students will share out where their Ipad Comix vocabulary word
belongs on the story map. One student from each group will add the vocabulary words as appropriate to the Popplet.
5. We will then read the story map together, thinking about the different categories that we have created for wildfires. I will
ask the students to think of categories that we might be missing, using think-pair-share. I will document these categories on
the story map.
6. I will remind students of the learning objective that authors organize ideas in order to plan out their writing.
7. Instructions for the small group practice will follow. Students will break into groups based on their category of
interest/expertise. I will modify groups as needed. Each group will receive an IPad with the Wildfires Popplet open and
ready to edit. Using their IPads, students will then add onto the whole-class Wildfires Popplet, creating a mini-story map
around one of the categories, using the category as the center of their thinking. Each category/group will have a bin
containing pictures, items, and vocabulary word cards that can be used to inspire student story maps. Students will work
together to organize the tools (pictures and words) and add their own thinking onto the Popplet story map, defining each
word/picture using strategies from past lessons. I will remind students that each category describes a different type of
knowledge about wildfires, and that their story maps should include ideas that support understanding of the specific
category: tools for putting out a fire, types of wildfires, how fires start, etc.
Independent (small group) Practice:
1. After 15 minutes of group work, students will reconvene on the carpet and analyze each other’s Popplet additions to the
Wildfires story map. We will discuss similarities and differences between the mini-story maps for each category, linking
similar ideas and words together as they are observed.
2. Students will then use post-it-notes to ask a question for another group’s category/mini-story map. Students will be
instructed to focus on how each story map uses vocabulary and definitions to plan out writing.
3. Groups will reconvene to revise their story maps using peer feedback. The finalized Wildfires Popplet will be printed and
hung up in the classroom for publishing and reference in the next lessons.
4. As students work, I will circulate and provide feedback: asking questions, recasting student thinking, and prompting
accountability sentence frames when needed. I will continue to provide this feedback during the gallery walk as well.
- Act out/visualize your picture. What did you do/do you see? How does it describe your category?
- What vocabulary does the mentor text use to describe…?
- I agree because… I disagree because…

Closing:
1. Each group will read out a word or picture from their contribution to the Popplet Wildfire’s Story Map that they are most
excited about.
2. I will then congratulate students on their prewriting work, organizing their ideas in order to plan for their newspaper.
3. After students share, I will ask all students to reflect on their story maps. Students will think-pair-share about how this
prewriting strategy will help them write about wildfires. Some students will share out their thinking to the whole class.
4. I will end the lesson by reminding students of the learning objective and congratulating them on their work as authors.
REFLECTIONS:
LESSON RATIONALE
2nd grade students need to be able to write texts that categorize ideas based on topics and vocabulary. Their writing begins
to develop structure by including an introduction and a conclusion. This level of structure requires that 2 nd graders be able to
make meaning of their ideas and organize them. This lesson introduces prewriting strategies as a means to learning the
processes that govern structure in writing. Students navigate these new ideas using content and language with which they
are familiar. They also employ a level of choice by selecting the category about which they will write. Choice creates
motivation and engagement. Choice also allows students to select topics with which they have more familiarity. This allows
students to focus more on the writing requirements and less on language and content understanding. By including images,
this lesson also provides scaffolding for English Language Learners and struggling readers/writers. Illustrative, written,
kinesthetic, and oral strategies are encouraged throughout the group work time. This allows all students to work with and
demonstrate their understanding of the prewriting strategies. Picture and vocabulary cards, additionally, provide a scaffold
for accessing and working with domain specific language. By the end of this lesson, students will not only have continued to
develop vocabulary that will support them throughout the unit, they will have practiced writing strategies that support writing
fluency and scaffold domain specific language use in expressive English.

Rationale of Technology
Popplet is replacing all of the hand-written story maps from the anchor chart to the group prewriting story maps. Using a
whole class Popplet story map allows students to organize their thinking around individual categories while still connecting
their ideas back to the main theme of Wildfires. This also creates a visual aid for students that supports their understanding
of how each category is both addressing a separate and more specific idea while sharing similar threads and information.
This allows students to develop and express a more in depth understanding of thematic ideas and domain specific
vocabulary. Students can also more readily see editing choices from other groups that might influence or inspire their own
thinking. Popplet allows the class to create a shared document while also working toward individual/group thinking. By
using Popplet I can incorporate screen shots from our mentor text in order to make prior knowledge from our reading
accessible within the organization of the whole class story map itself. Popplet also provides an opportunity for students to
connect reading and writing digital literacies as a way to understand the processes of prewriting. The additional action of
connecting information and vocabulary between the mini-story map categories during the class revision process provides
me with an in the moment informal assessment by continuing to make student thinking visible and connecting the learning
objectives for this lesson to past learning objectives (describing how ideas within a text are connected). These connections
also allow me to make observational assessments about student understanding of vocabulary, as they connect similar
terms/ideas to each other. Popplet supports these informal assessments by allowing the class to create one whole
document that visually connects their ideas to each other’s ideas, allowing them to more readily identify and describe
connections between ideas and vocabulary. This will allow me to make necessary edits to the lesson based on student
retention of familiar vocabulary words from prior lessons.

Make Belief Comix provides the students with an opportunity to engage with their own writing from past lessons. This
legitimizes their thinking and centers student writing as a tool for reading and creating. This digital tool also provides a
scaffold for English Language Learning students by allowing them to reread their own ideas from past lessons as well as
use their own language and digital literacies as a tool for understanding domain specific vocabulary. Referencing the Comix
strips engages student prior knowledge and sets a tone throughout the lesson that student reading and writing is integral
and important. By centering student work throughout the unit, students are given an authentic purpose for creating in
addition to a scaffold for interpreting different types of literacies.

I have also changed the purpose of the writing unit to end with a student Podcast rather than just a written sample of
student work. By using a Podcast for the final summative assessment, student work can be shared outside of the classroom
and with each other. Podcasts also further the connection between writing and reading as students read their writing in
order to create the Podcast.

Rationale of Assessment
The assessment in this lesson is based on the group work story map and the creation of this story map. Students will be
assessed on their ability to organize the vocabulary words and then add their own definitions and thinking. Students that
understand this lesson will produce detailed story maps that center around a main topic and use domain specific language
to elaborate on the main idea. Students that do not understand this lesson will neglect terminology and incorporate
irrelevant thinking on their story maps. This means that the bulk of assessment in this lesson will be observational and
formative. Assessment of this lesson will continue into the next few lessons as students work to write an article that
organizes information based on ideas in their story maps. Student application of the lesson objectives also relies on student
prior knowledge, which means that this lesson is the product of other formative assessments. Students will already have
had to demonstrate understanding of inferring meaning and writing definitions, of how nonfiction texts are organized into
categories with specific subtopic ideas, and that nonfiction writing produces factual content, as well as how to provide
appropriate peer feedback.
Analysis of the story map will be combined with informal observations of how students negotiate ideas during the
organizational process, as well as how students respond to peer feedback, implementing relevant ideas rather than all
ideas. The story map itself will provide feedback on the prewriting stage, using vocabulary to develop ideas. This directly
ties into the writing standard for using definitions to develop points. Assessment will also occur by analyzing student
feedback. Students will demonstrate understanding of how to determine meaning of vocabulary words as well as applying
vocabulary in writing. They will do this by analyzing their peer’s work and leaving feedback. Relevant ideas and questions
about the specific writing category will demonstrate understanding of the learning objective. Irrelevant ideas and questions
will demonstrate potential alternate understandings from this lesson or past lessons. Since students will need to infer
meaning of vocabulary words in order to read each other’s story maps and then apply these terms in their gallery walk
notes, peer feedback will also provide an assessment of the language standard listed for this lesson: understanding and
applying domain specific language. By analyzing both the story maps and student feedback, I will be able to reteach ideas
and plan future lessons accordingly.

Template adapted from Echevarria, Vogt, and Short (2008), Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP ® Model.